Proof in the Plodding
Since starting my blog in 2015, I’ve harped on the importance of regular weightlifting and alternative aerobic exercise, which for me has been deep water running and StairMaster. I call these running equivalents, or REQs. Along with generally running four and sometimes five days a week, the weights and REQs have seemed a good balance to keep in reasonable racing shape and though slowing with age, feeling spry enough. Then along came COVID-19, shutting down every gym and pool for the foreseeable future. As luck would have it, the day things closed down I tweaked a hamstring. Not badly, but enough to affect my stride and really slow me down. It’s been three weeks and I still feel stiff as a board the first couple of miles running, never really loosing up. The fix for something like this the past years has been hitting the pool, StairMaster and a variety of leg weights and stretches to allow the hamstring, calf, quad, or whatever is troubled to settle. So why are weights and REQs so effective? One, they allow for a full range of motion, lubricate the joints, and get the blood flowing to the injured parts. Two, they stretch the … Continue reading